A Eurobodalla man who tested positive to driving with methamphetamine in his system has warned others to be wary of cannabis deals “cross-contaminated” with “ice”.
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The man, convicted earlier this year of driving with both drugs in his system, freely admits to using the first, but categorically denies using the second.
He’s one of a several people who have appeared before the shire’s courts in recent months charged with driving with methamphetamine (ice), but who have denied using the drug.
Now, he wants police tests to measure toxicity levels, not simply the presence of a drug.
“The drug tests should be similar to an alcohol test, so there is reading, not just a very sensitive machine that says negative or positive,” the man, who did not wish his name to be published, told the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner.
“I had smoked cannabis the night before, as I told the police when they pulled a mobile drug test out.
“I told them I did not want to do it, because I had smoked cannabis the night before.
“I came up positive to the cannabis reading … then they took me down to the bus behind the police station.”
He said he was shocked when a second test revealed methamphetamine.
“At the time, I had no knowledge of being around any methamphetamine whatsoever,” he said.
The man admitted in the past “I have been at parties and had ecstasy”, but denied methamphetamine use.
At the time of his arrest, he put the result down to a testing error.
“I believed so, then I waited up to four months for the analysis,” he said.
When the presence of both drugs was confirmed, he was “very shocked”.
At the time, he had not heard of anyone else with the same experience. He feared a supplier dealing in both drugs had inadvertently contaminated his “weed” with “ice”
“I am pretty sure where it has come from … if it has been put on the same scales or handled with the same hands, then it will come up present because the tests are so sensitive,” he said.
“That is the only thing I could think of as the likely scenario.”
He is warning other cannabis users of the consequences.
“If there is any cross-contamination or people deliberately contaminating weed, it is something to worry about,” he said.
However, he believed the presence of ice in his system was more likely to be the result of inadvertent contamination, rather than a dealer deliberately spiking cannabis with a more addictive drug to guarantee return business.
“(It is) more likely to be cross contamination, unless it is targeted personally, which is a worry,” he said.
He was particularly concerned about younger users, who might be consuming a heavier drug inadvertently.
“Weed is bad enough on its own,” he said. “It is not something to run to (but) I don’t particularly like it (ice) at all.I have seen friends use it and fall apart.”
Ice was something “to stay away from”.
The man said, in the months since his arrest, he had reduced his cannabis use from “every day” to a handful of occasions “when it was around me”.
“It is not something anyone should be doing,” he said.
He said he had given the magistrate a written account of his evidence and received a minimum suspension from driving.
However, he remained concerned about the effect on his job opportunities, given the stigma of using “ice”.
“I was really angry,” he said.
“It is going to affect my job possibilities. It is going to make it nearly impossible to get a council job or anything like (that). It definitely carries a stigma.”
- This article first appeared on the Moruya Examiner
